Pennsylvania melodic hardcore / dream metal outfit EARTH & ELSEWHERE have launched their debut EP in September, and today we have teamed up with them to give you their top 5 melodic hardcore bands worth a good listen, in case you haven’t done so yet.
Combining elements from a dazzlingly dexterous array of influences from across the alternative rock spectrum, Earth & Elsewhere have hones a deft amalgam of melancholy and malice on their debut EP.
With prominent nods to shoegaze, metal, melodic hardcore, and grunge all ebbing through on the new record, the East Coast rockers convey an immersive and perennially atmospheric soundscape, rooted in the band’s eclectic music persuasions.
‘Earth & Elsewhere‘ is a heady journey, a bold intertwining of ambient, ethereal guitars and the potent force of lead vocalist Lance Augustine, who sets a vice like grip on the listener across the 4-track.
‘Earth & Elsewhere‘ is out now. Watch the band’s latest video for “Bastard Son” and scrol down for the band’s top emerging melodic hardcore bands worth a listen!
Earth & Elsewhere is: Lance Augustine – Vocals, Bass, Jeff Weakland – Guitar, Luke Brancato – Drums
Top 5 Emerging Melodic Hardcore Bands, by EARTH & ELSEWHERE
Boundaries:
Don’t let the “melodic” part fool you because this band is heavy as fuck. They do have moments of grace, though, that makes them a constant listen for me. I (Lance) have always been stoked when bands combine elements of heavy and beauty. Boundaries pull this off so well and have many more tricks up their sleeves. Think It Dies Today style metalcore with vicious vocals and melodic parts that’ll make your heart skip a beat.
The lyrics also stand out for me and I know the first time I heard “Is Survived By” all bets were off. I would highly recommend anything off of Your Receding Warmth, but they have just released a new record in the last month that is an AOTY contender for me, I can’t put this band over enough and definitely think they are worth a listen.
Bloom:
We are going across the pond for this band that I have been into for a while now and they are really solid. Bloom combines a lot of elements that are awesome and give me a Counterparts vibe if I were to describe their sound to someone unfamiliar with the band.
The best part for me, though, is the lyrics. Earth & Elsewhere uses a lot of imagery in our words when it comes to our music, and this band does as well. If you listen to songs like The Service, you can tell that the story they are trying to portray is one of great loss and how they have come to handle those situations. I know collectively we feel the same way so you can automatically connect with the music on a personal level. We are storytellers and these guys do a great job portraying their sorrow through their music. Their EP In Passing is really fantastic, but they are due for new music and I know that we will be listening from day one. We both have released our music via Dreambound too, so that’s a fun footnote.
Forage & Wander:
This is a band that we have been friends with for a while now and have been playing some shows together recently. I (Jeff) recently got to give their newest album an early listen and I will just say that I am very excited about the release.
Forage & Wander hits all the right notes for fans of Touche Amore and Aviator. Late Winters Bloom is their most recent release, which I know the dudes in the band have been jamming regularly. I know that I instantly fell in love with this tune. It’s an emotional rollercoaster and ends with a crushing breakdown that just wraps everything else up in the song nicely. These are hard-working guys and I am looking forward to seeing what they have in store coming up.
Koyo:
Koyo has a certain flavor to them that is just appealing. They aren’t really that heavy, but they have hooks for days. One of the ideas we had in forming Earth & Elsewhere was making sure we tried to write parts that were memorable after the first initial listen and Koyo pulls that trick off flawlessly. Especially on a song like Straight North which almost has a pop-punk sensibility, while still maintaining solid guitar work.
The lyrics are also great which makes the package as a whole come together nicely. They signed to Pure Noise sometime ago and their debut album was really sick. Luke turned me onto this band and they have been on constant rotation ever since.
Bleed
If you haven’t jumped on the song “Killing Time” yet, I highly suggest you get on it ASAP. Bleed is a band from Dallas and they released Killing Time as a single, which absolutely rips. The song sets the tone with the atmosphere and has the feel of being in the dream metal/grunge gaze genre. While I (Luke) was listening to the song for the first time, I was immediately drawn to the shoegaze tone and the heavy-hitting sounds of the drums. It created a wonderful dynamic in their sound and we share a lot of the same influences for the sound we have in Earth & Elsewhere.
The message behind the lyrics is something familiar in the E&E camp as well. We just look at it as time moves on and sometimes you can struggle with the changes. This band rules so jump on the bandwagon now before it takes off with you.
